Fulfilled Prophecy as an Apologetic Perhaps the most significant question posed to believers in our âpost_-Christianâ culture revolves around the inspiration of Scripture. Is the Bible in fact divinely inspired or merely human in origin? Oftentimes when quoting Scripture in witnessing situations, Iâve been challenged with the words: âWho says the Bible is true or accurate in the first place?â Although this objection often strikes terror in the heart of the average Christian, it is not real_ly as difficult to deal with as one might think. I have found fulfilled prophecy to be an extremely effective resource in respond_ing to this challenge. The prophetic evi_dences for the Bibleâs trustworthiness are so overwhelming that anyone with a truly open mind will be compelled to consider the Bibleâs central message: redemption in Jesus Christ. Begin by pointing out that the Bible con_tains almost 500 specific prophecies con_cerning the birth, life, death, and resurrec_tion of Jesus Christ â some of which were made well over two thousand years prior to His birth. For example, it was not only prophesied that Christ would be a descendant of Abra_ham, (Gen.12:1-3), but that He would be from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10) and the house of David (Ps. 110:1); that He would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), born of a virgin (Isa. 7:1 4), betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12f.), and also that His hands and feet would be pierced (Ps. 22:16). It is noteworthy that this last prediction was made long before crucifixion was invented as a form of capi_tal punishment by the Persians and a thou_sand years before it was made common by the Romans. It was also prophesied that Christ would be crucified with transgressors (Isa. 53:9, 12); that none of His bones would be broken (Ex. 12:46; Ps. 34:20); and that He would cry out from the cross, âMy God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?â (Ps. 22:1). Moreover, Christâs resur_rection (Ps. 16:8-11), His ascension (Ps. 68:1 8), and hundreds of other details were predicted in minute detail. These prophecies do not deal with vague gener_alities (as is so often the case with mod_ern-day âprophetsâ and psychics); they are specific and verifiable. Each was liter_ally fulfilled down to the smallest detail in the person of Jesus Christ. In addition to Messianic prophecies, the Bible contains nearly 2,000 prophecies concerning almost every nation within a thousand miles of Jerusalem. I strongly sug_gest researching and internalizing some of these prophecies for use in witnessing situ_ations. As an illustration let me detail the prophecy about the city of Tyre in Ezekiel 26 and its fulfillment. Tyre was no small, obscure village. It was a great Phoenician city and a world capital for over 2,000 years. It was to the sea what mighty Babylon was to the land. Yet, in the heyday of its power, the prophet Ezekiel had the audacity to predict for it a violent future and ultimate destruction. This downfall would be due to Tyreâs fla_grant wickedness and arrogance, traits that were personified in its ruler, Ittobal II, who claimed to be God. Ezekiel predicted that many nations would come up against Tyre (Ezek. 26:3); that Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar would be the first to attack it (v. 7); that Tyreâs walls and towers would be broken down (vv. 4,9); that the stones, timbers, and debris of that great city would be thrown into the sea (v. 12); that its location would become a bare rock and a place for the drying of fishermensâ nets (vv. 4-5,14); and finally, that the city of Tyre would never be rebuilt (v.14). History bears eloquent testimony to the fact that all this is precisely what hap_pened. Many nations did come up against Tyre â the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Muslims, and the Crusaders, to name a few. And Nebuchadnezzar was indeed the first of these invaders, who â after a thirteen year siege â broke down the walls and towers of mainland Tyre, thus fulfilling the first of Ezekielâs prophecies. Nebuchadnezzar massacred all of Tyreâs inhabitants except for those who escaped to an island fortress a half mile out in the Mediterranean Sea. Centuries after Ezekielâs body had decomposed in his grave, Alexander the Great fulfilled a major portion of the prophecy. In order to conquer the island fortress of Tyre (without the luxury of a navy), he and his celebrated architect Diades devised one of the most brilliant engineering feats of ancient warfare. They built a causeway from Tyreâs mainland to the island fortress, using the millions of cubic feet of rubble left over on mainland Tyre. Thus Tyre was scraped bare as a rock, just as Ezekiel predicted. The most astonishing of Ezekielâs predictions was that Tyre would never be rebuilt. This is singularly incredible because Tyre is strategically located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It also contains the Springs of Reselain, which pump ten million gallons of fresh water daily â enough to take care of the needs of a modern city. Yet, history records that after a succession of inva_sions, Tyre finally and irrevocably fell in A.D. 1291 â never to be rebuilt again. Today Tyre has been humbled to the point of becoming a place for the drying of fish_ermensâ nets â just as Ezekiel prophesied two-and-one-half millennia ago. This prophecy of Tyre is but one among many examples of meticulously detailed and fulfilled prophecies, any one of which is sufficient to demonstrate the truth and accuracy of Scripture. âI have spoken,â says the Lord of Hosts. The Scripture can_not be broken (John 10:35). If it can be shown that the Bible really is the Word of God, then a host of other objections can be answered by simply referring to Scripture itself. Having demon_strated the trustworthiness of Godâs Word, you can then proceed to share its central message: redemption in Jesus Christ. Remember, our goal is not to demonstrate that we are intellectually superior, but rather to use our answers as springboards or opportunities for communicating the gospel.
The Reformed Faith What I mean by the Reformed Faith is the biblical vision of God and his ways recovered in the Reformation under leaders like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli. I donât mean that all these men taught was true. Only the Bible is perfectly true. I mean that all these men saw the same thing at the center of the Bible and spoke it with power. We see the same things in the Bible and so we believe them and love them. Being biblical is more important than being Reformed. But at the center, being Reformed is being biblical. One way to describe the Reformed Faith is with the five "alones." Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, on the authority of Scripture alone. At the center of these "alones" is the precious teaching of justification by faith alone. That is not my focus this morning, but I donât want you to miss its relevance for racial harmony. Listen to the way Paul draws this out in Romans 3:28-30: We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God he God of Jews [one ethnic group] only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also [all ethnic groups]? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith [Jewish ethnic group] and the uncircumcised through faith [the rest of the ethnic groups]. In other words, the fact that there is one God who justifies human beings in his court in one way â by faith alone â is made a race issue by Paul. Justification is by faith alone precisely, Paul says, to nullify ethnic advantages and feelings of superiority or exclusion. "Is he not the God of the nations!" Yes, and he will justify in only one way â a way that makes clear that ethnic distinctions do not create advantages or disadvantages. They do not save and they do not damn. Christ saves. Sin damns. And everyone is justified by faith alone. But my focus today is on another way of summing up the biblical vision of God and his ways in the Reformed Faith. At the heart of the Reformed Faith are what we sometimes call the doctrines of grace. Sometimes we sum these up in the acronym TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints. I said that my main point is that the more you understand and the more you cherish the biblical vision of God as absolutely free and gracious and sovereign over all things, the more you will love and live and labor for racial diversity and racial harmony. When I said that I had in mind this vision of God â the one expressed in these five biblical "doctrines of grace." So let me take them one at a time and give some biblical basis and then mention how they relate to racial diversity and racial harmony.
Total Depravity The Bible teaches that, since the original sin of Adam, all humans are spiritually dead and morally incapable of submitting to God in faith and obedience. We have a mindset that "cannot submit to God." Romans 8:7-8, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." The reason for this moral inability is given in Ephesians 2:1, "You were dead through your trespasses and sins." The natural person â the way we are by nature â apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, does not see the truth as true and desirable, but considers it foolishness. So he cannot embrace it as true and precious. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." The implications of this doctrine for racial harmony are huge. Most often Christians celebrate the great positive common denominator among races, namely, that we are all created equally in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 5:1; 9:6; James 3:9). That is true and powerful and relevant. But there is a problem if we treat that doctrine in isolation. The problem is: we are not good enough to hear it and make good use of it. If you convince a sinful, depraved, unrepentant, unregenerate person that he is created in the image of God, you will probably fuel his innate pride. And that pride will so distort a personâs view of reality he will easily convince himself that he is above others. What is desperately needed is another conviction â no less strong, but shattering to pride â namely, the conviction that all human beings, including me, are corrupt, depraved, guilty, condemned, and under the just sentence of hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth: red and yellow, black and white. The ethnic diversity of hell is a crucial doctrine. Romans 2:9 puts it like this: "There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek." God is no respecter of persons in salvation or in damnation. The human race â and every ethnic group in it â are united in this great reality: we are all depraved and condemned. We are all lost in the woods together, sinking on the same boat, dying of the same disease. If we saw this more clearly, two things would happen. We would be humbled and frightened and made desperate like a little child to find a Savior. I have never seen a white-hooded Klansman or a Farrakhan follower who was brokenhearted for his sin, humble, and desperate for a Savior. The other thing that would happen if we saw how united we are in sin is that the sins of others would look like the outworkings of our own hearts, and we would be slow to judge and quick to show mercy. The doctrine of total depravity has a huge role to play in humbling all ethnic groups and giving us a desperate camaraderie of condemnation. Unconditional Election This is the doctrine that we have seen most clearly in our study of Romans 9. God chooses his people before the foundation of the world apart from any conditions in them. It is unconditional. This does not mean we donât have to believe on Christ to be saved. Nor does it mean we will be condemned apart from sin and guilt. We are saved by faith. And we are condemned because of sin and unbelief. What it does mean is this: who believes and is saved, and who rebels and is not saved, is ultimately decided by God. Acts 13:48 puts it like this after Paulâs sermon in Antioch of Pisidia: "When the Gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of God. And as many as were for ordained to eternal life believed." First comes Godâs sovereign "purpose according to election" as Paul says in Romans 9:11, then comes faith. So the "purpose that accords with election" is not conditional on faith or any other human decision or feeling or behavior or distinctive. It is unconditional. God is free and unconstrained by anything outside his own will when he elects his people. This means that God does not choose his people on the basis of skin color or any other ethnic distinctive. No ethnic group can say they are chosen because of Godâs preference for their physical or psychological or spiritual qualities. And no ethnic group can say that they are not chosen because of their qualities. Godâs choice is unconditional. It is not based on anything in us. He is absolutely free and unconstrained. This is his glory, his name. And acting this way is his righteousness. Therefore unconditional election severs the deepest root of all racism and all ethnocentrism. If I am among Godâs elect, it is owing entirely to Godâs free grace, not my distinctives. Therefore there is no ground in Godâs election for pride. And there is no ground in Godâs election for despair. Nothing in me caused him to choose me. And nothing in you could have stopped him from choosing you. When it comes to election, we are on the absolutely level field of unconditional mercy: "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (Romans 9:15). Limited Atonement (Definite Atonement, Particular Redemption) The main point of the doctrine of limited atonement is not to assert that Christ did not die for everyone in the sense that John 3:16 says he did: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." That is absolutely true: Christ died so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Christâs death is sufficient for all, and should be offered to all as gloriously sufficient to save them if they will believe. "Limited atonement" does not deny any of that. What it denies is that Godâs design in the atonement is the same for everyone. It affirms that Christ dies for his bride in a way that is different from the way he dies for all people. Ephesians 5:25 says, "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." In other words, Christ died for the church, his bride, with the sovereign purpose that he would accomplish her salvation in the cross. He would purify her and purchase her. He was dying not just to create an opportunity for her to believe, but to purchase the belief itself. His death was not just sufficient for the salvation of the church. It was efficient, effective, and decisive for the salvation of the church. Jesus says, "I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:15). "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you [Father] have given me, for they are yours" (John 17:9). "And for their sake I consecrate myself [to die], that they also may be sanctified in truth" (John 17:19). And Paul carried this understanding of Christâs work through when he said in Romans 8:32-33, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against Godâs elect?" In other words, all those for whom he died will most certainly obtain all things â they will finally inherit the kingdom of God. His death is effectual for the elect. Which means that no person, no matter what ethnic group, ever made any contribution to the ransom that frees him from the slavery of sin. We are all equally slaves to sin and corruption and futility and death and condemnation because of our depravity. That is our common slavery. We saw that. Now we see that the payment for our liberation â the blood and righteousness of Christ â is so complete that we could not and did not make any contribution to it â whether by our willing, or running, or ethnic distinctives. When Christ died in our place and for our sins, the whole ransom was paid. So fully paid, in fact, that our freedom was not just offered but secured, guaranteed. The cross of Christ is a great leveler of human beings not just because it shows that we are all desperate sinners, and not just because it can only be received by faith, but also because it is such a full and effective ransom for the elect that no child of God dare ever think that we made any contribution to purchase. No color, no ethnicity, no intelligence, no skill, no human wealth or power can add anything to the all-sufficient, all-effective sacrifice of Christ. We are one in our utter dependence on his blood and righteousness.
Irresistible Grace Just as the cross is effective in purchasing the elect, so that grace of God is effective in drawing the elect to believe and be saved. Irresistible grace does not mean you canât resist the grace of God when he is drawing you to himself. It means that when he chooses to, he can and will overcome your resistance. He may allow resistance for a long time (Acts 7:51). Recall how Paul said that God set him apart before he was born (Galatians 1:15). But think of all the persecution that God tolerated in Paul before he decided to move in power and take him captive on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-20). Irresistible grace simply means that, since no human being can submit to God because of our hardness of heart and rebellion and spiritual deadness, the only way any of us is saved is by sovereign grace. Jesus said, "No one comes to me unless the Father draws him" (John 6:44). "No one can come to me unless it is granted to him by my Father" (John 6:65). We are saved by grace through faith, Paul said, and that is not of ourselves it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our faith is a gift from God. And so is repentance: 2 Timothy 2:25, "God may perhaps grant them repentance." This means that not only did your ethnic distinctives contribute nothing to your election, and nothing to your ransom by the cross, but your ethnic distinctives also contributed nothing to the rise of your faith and the emergence of your repentance. We are all equally dependent on irresistible grace to be called and to believe and to be saved. Not only that but irresistible grace also means that there is no scoundrel â no racist, no black or white or brown or red or yellow arrogance that God cannot overcome and subdue and bring to humble repentance and faith and everlasting holiness and joy. We are comrades in dependence on irresistible grace, and comrades in hope that none of us are too far gone in our racial sins to be saved. Perseverance of the Saints This simply means that those whom God calls, he keeps. If you are a true believer, you will persevere in faith and obedience (not perfection) to the end and be saved. God will see to it. "Those whom he predestined he also called and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified" (Romans 8:30). "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:27-29). "I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6; see 1 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:23f). What does this mean for racial harmony? I pick out one implication. If the pursuit of racial harmony is woven into the very fabric of Godâs sovereign grace, and if therefore pursuing racial harmony is part of what it means to be a Christian, then the promise of perseverance is a promise to keep us pursuing till we die or Jesus comes. This is utterly crucial, and crucial to believe. Because of all the issues, even abortion which we will address next week, this one we are tempted to abandon more often because of we get wounded along the way. If you have a thin skin, or if you have a bigger sense of rights than mercies, or if you have small faith in Godâs persevering grace, you will set out on the road of racial harmony and then quit. Because you are going to be criticized. You will try to say something or do something and the first thing you hear is: you said it wrong, or you should have said it a long time ago, or you should have also said such and such, or it was not the time to say anything. What will you do when that happens? I pray that you will persevere. I pray that you will ponder your own sin, your own unconditional election, your ransom by the blood of Christ, your own miraculous and merciful awakening to faith, and the promise of God to complete the word that he has begun â and then press on in what you know is right, and show that Christ is your comfort in life and death. Take heart and inspiration from people like John Perkins who left Mississippi when he was 17 after his brother was murdered, vowing never to return. But after he was converted to Christ in 1960 he went back and has been fighting for racial harmony for over 40 years. He wrote in the foreword to Dwight Perryâs book, Building Unity in the Church of the New Millenium (Moody, 2002), that he had seen in this book what he wanted to see and said, "I can almost say as Simeon said when he saw the child Jesus, "Now may this old man depart in peace" (p. 20). Get old in the pursuit of Biblical truth, persevering obedience, and racial harmony.
Here are some of the following evidences of WHY we believe. Manuscripts Manuscripts relates to the tests used to determine the reliability of the extant manuscript copies of the original documents penned by the Scripture writers (we do not possess these originals). In determining manuscript reliability, we deal with the question: How can we test to see that the text we possess in the manuscript copies is an accurate rendition of the original? There are three main manuscript tests: the Bibliographic, Eyewitness, and External (a second acronym â BEE â will help you remember these). The bibliographic test considers the quantity of manuscripts and manuscript fragments, and also the time span between the original documents and our earliest copies. The more copies, the better able we are to work back to the original. The closer the time span between the copies and the original, the less likely it is that serious textual error would creep in. The Bible has stronger bibliographic support than any classical literature â including Homer, Tacitus, Pliny, and Aristotle. We have more than 14,000 manuscripts and fragments of the Old Testament of three main types: (a) approximately 10,000 from the Cairo Geniza (storeroom) find of 1897, dating back as far as about AD. 800; (b) about 190 from the Dead Sea Scrolls find of 1947-1955, the oldest dating back to 250-200 B.C.; and (c) at least 4,314 assorted other copies. The short time between the original Old Testament manuscripts (completed around 400 B.C.) and the first extensive copies (about 250 B.C.) â coupled with the more than 14,000 copies that have been discovered â ensures the trustworthiness of the Old Testament text. The earliest quoted verses (Num. 6:24-26) date from 800-700 B.C. The same is true of the New Testament text. The abundance of textual witnesses is amazing. We possess over 5,300 manuscripts or portions of the (Greek) New Testament â almost 800 copied before A.D. 1000. The time between the original composition and our earliest copies is an unbelievably short 60 years or so. The overwhelming bibliographic reliability of the Bible is clearly evident. The eyewitness document test (âEâ), sometimes referred to as the internal test, focuses on the eyewitness credentials of the authors. The Old and New Testament authors were eyewitnesses of â or interviewed eyewitnesses of â the majority of the events they described. Moses participated in and was an eyewitness of the remarkable events of the Egyptian captivity, the Exodus, the forty years in the desert, and Israelâs final encampment before entering the Promised Land. These events he chronicled in the first five books of the Old Testament. The New Testament writers had the same eyewitness authenticity. Luke, who wrote the Books of Luke and Acts, says that he gathered eyewitness testimony and âcarefully investigated everythingâ (Luke 1:1-3). Peter reminded his readers that the disciples âwere eyewitnesses of [Jesusâ] majestyâ and âdid not follow cleverly invented storiesâ (2 Pet. 1:16). Truly, the Bible affirms the eyewitness credibility of its writers. The external evidence test looks outside the texts themselves to ascertain the historical reliability of the historical events, geographical locations, and cultural consistency of the biblical texts. Unlike writings from other world religions which make no historical references or which fabricate histories, the Bible refers to historical events and assumes its historical accuracy. The Bible is not only the inspired Word of God, it is also a history book â and the historical assertions it makes have been proven time and again. Many of the events, people, places, and customs in the New Testament are confirmed by secular historians who were almost contemporaries with New Testament writers. Secular historians like the Jewish Josephus (before A.D. 100), the Roman Tacitus (around A.D. 120), the Roman Suetonius (A.D. 110), and the Roman governor Pliny Secundus (A.D. 100-110) make direct reference to Jesus or affirm one or more historical New Testament references. Early church leaders such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Julius Africanus, and Clement of Rome â all writing before A.D. 250 â shed light on New Testament historical accuracy. Even skeptical historians agree that the New Testament is a remarkable historical document. Hence, it is clear that there is strong external evidence to support the Bibleâs manuscript reliability. Archaeology Returning to our MAPS acronym, we have established ,the first principle, manuscript reliability. Let us consider our second principle, archaeological evidence. Over and over again, comprehensive field work (archaeology) and careful biblical interpretation affirms the reliability of the Bible. It is telling when a secular scholar must revise his biblical criticism in light of solid archaeological evidence. For years critics dismissed the Book of Daniel, partly because there was no evidence that a king named Belshazzar ruled in Babylon during that time period. However, later archaeological research confirmed that the reigning monarch, Nabonidus, appointed Belshazzar as his co-regent whi1e he was away from Babylon. One of the most well-known New Testament examples concerns the Books of Luke and Acts. A biblical skeptic, Sir William Ramsay, trained as an archaeologist and then set out to disprove the historical reliability of this portion of the New Testament. However, through his painstaking Mediterranean archaeological trips, he became converted as â one after another â of the historical statements of Luke were proved accurate. Archaeological evidence thus confirms the trustworthiness of the Bible. Prophecy The third principle of Bible reliability is Prophecy, or predictive ability. The Bible records predictions of events that could not be known or predicted by chance or common sense. Surprisingly, the predictive nature of many Bible passages was once a popular argument (by liberals) against the reliability of the Bible. Critics argued that the prophecies actually were written after the events and that editors had merely dressed up the Bible text to look like they contained predictions made before the events. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. The many predictions of Christâs birth, life and death (see below) were indisputably rendered more than a century before they occurred as proven by the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah and other prophetic books as well as by the Septuagint translation, all dating from earlier than 100 B.C. Old Testament prophecies concerning the Phoenician city of Tyre were fulfilled in ancient times, including prophecies that the city would be opposed by many nations (Ezek. 26:3); its walls would be destroyed and towers broken down (26:4); and its stones, timbers, and debris would be thrown into the water (26:12). Similar prophecies were fulfilled concerning Sidon (Ezek. 28:23; Isa. 23; Jer. 27:3-6; 47:4) and Babylon (Jer. 50:13, 39; 51:26, 42-43, 58; Isa. 13:20-21). Since Christ is the culminating theme of the Old Testament and the Living Word of the New Testament, it should not surprise us that prophecies regarding Him outnumber any others. Many of these prophecies would have been impossible for Jesus to deliberately conspire to fulfill â such as His descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 12:3; 17:19; Num. 24:21-24); His birth in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2); His crucifixion with criminals (Isa. 53:12); the piercing of His hands and feet at the crucifixion (Ps. 22:16); the soldiersâ gambling for His clothes (Ps. 22:18); the piercing of His side and the fact that His bones were not broken at His death (Zech. 12:10; Ps. 34:20); and His burial among the rich (Isa. 53:9). Jesus also predicted His own death and resurrection (John 2:19-22). Predictive Prophecy is a principle of Bible reliability that often reaches even the hard-boiled skeptic! Statistics Our fourth MAPS principle works well with predictive prophecy, because it is Statistically preposterous that any or all of the Bibleâs very specific, detailed prophecies could have been fulfilled through chance, good guessing, or deliberate deceit. When you look at some of the improbable prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, it seems incredible that skeptics â knowing the authenticity and historicity of the texts â could reject the statistical verdict: the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the Son of God, just as Scripture predicted many times and in many ways. The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years by forty different human authors in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), on hundreds of subjects. And yet there is one consistent, noncontradictory theme that runs through it all: Godâs redemption of humankind. Clearly, Statistical probability is a powerful indicator of the trustworthiness of Scripture.
CHAPTER 3; OF GODâS DECREE Paragraph 1. God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass;1 yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein;2 nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established;3 in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree.4 1 Isa. 46:10; Eph. 1:11; Heb. 6:17; Rom. 9:15,18 2 James 1:13; 1 John 1:5 3 Acts 4:27,28; John 19:11 4 Num. 23:19; Eph. 1:3-5 Paragraph 2. Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions,5 yet hath He not decreed anything, because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.6 5 Acts 15:18 6 Rom. 9:11,13,16,18 Paragraph 3. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ,7 to the praise of His glorious grace;8 others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of His glorious justice.9 7 I Tim. 5:21; Matt. 25:34 8 Eph. 1:5,6 9 Rom. 9:22,23; Jude 4 Paragraph 4. These angels and men thus predestinated and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished.10 10 2 Tim. 2:19; John 13:18 Paragraph 5. Those of mankind that are predestinated to life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love,11 without any other thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving Him thereunto.12 11 Eph. 1:4, 9, 11; Rom. 8:30; 2 Tim. 1:9; I Thess. 5:9 12 Rom. 9:13,16; Eph. 2:5,12 Paragraph 6. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so He hath, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto;13 wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ,14 are effectually called unto faith in Christ, by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified,15 and kept by His power through faith unto salvation;16 neither are any other redeemed by Christ, or effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.17 13 1 Pet. 1:2; 2; Thess. 2:13 14 1 Thess. 5:9, 10 15 Rom. 8:30; 2 Thess. 2:13 16 1 Pet. 1:5 17 John 10:26, 17:9, 6:64 Paragraph 7. The doctrine of the high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, that men attending the will of God revealed in His Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election;18 so shall this doctrine afford matter of praise,19 reverence, and admiration of God, and of humility,20 diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel.21 18 1 Thess. 1:4,5; 2 Pet. 1:10 19 Eph. 1:6; Rom. 11:33 20 Rom. 11:5,6,20 21 Luke 10:20
CHAPTER 4; OF CREATION Paragraph 1. In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,1 for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power,2 wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.3 1 John 1:2,3; Heb. 1:2; Job 26:13 2 Rom. 1:20 3 Col. 1:16; Gen. 1:31 Paragraph 2. After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female,4 with reasonable and immortal souls,5 rendering them fit unto that life to God for which they were created; being made after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness;6 having the law of God written in their hearts,7 and power to fulfill it, and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject to change.8 4 Gen. 1:27 5 Gen. 2:7 6 Eccles. 7:29; Gen. 1;26 7 Rom. 2:14,15 8 Gen. 3:6 Paragraph 3. Besides the law written in their hearts, they received a command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,9 which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.10 9 Gen. 2:17 10 Gen. 1:26,28
CHAPTER 5; OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE Paragraph 1. God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things,1 from the greatest even to the least,2 by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will; to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.3 1 Heb. 1:3; Job 38:11; Isa. 46:10,11; Ps. 135:6 2 Matt. 10:29-31 3 Eph. 1;11 Paragraph 2. Although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly;4 so that there is not anything befalls any by chance, or without His providence;5 yet by the same providence He ordered them to fall out according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.6 4 Acts 2:23 5 Prov. 16:33 6 Gen. 8:22 Paragraph 3. God, in his ordinary providence makes use of means,7 yet is free to work without,8 above,9 and against them10 at His pleasure. 7 Acts 27:31, 44; Isa. 55:10, 11 8 Hosea 1:7 9 Rom. 4:19-21 10 Dan. 3:27 Paragraph 4. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in His providence, that His determinate counsel extends itself even to the first fall, and all other sinful actions both of angels and men;11 and that not by a bare permission, which also He most wisely and powerfully binds, and otherwise orders and governs,12 in a manifold dispensation to His most holy ends;13 yet so, as the sinfulness of their acts proceeds only from the creatures, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.14 11 Rom. 11:32-34; 2 Sam. 24:1; 1 Chron. 21:1 12 2 Kings 19:28; Ps. 76:10 13 Gen. 1:20; Isa. 10:6,7,12 14 Ps. 1;21; 1 John 2:16 Paragraph 5. The most wise, righteous, and gracious God does often times leave for a season His own children to manifold temptations and the corruptions of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled; and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon Himself; and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for other just and holy ends.15 So that whatsoever befalls any of His elect is by His appointment, for His glory, and their good.16 15 2 Chron. 32:25,26,31; 2 Cor. 12:7-9 16 Rom. 8:28 Paragraph 6. As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as the righteous judge, for former sin does blind and harden;17 from them He not only withholds His grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understanding, and wrought upon their hearts;18 but sometimes also withdraws the gifts which they had,19 and exposes them to such objects as their corruption makes occasion of sin;20 and withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan,21 whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, under those means which God uses for the softening of others.22 17 Rom. 1;24-26,28, 11:7,8 18 Deut. 29:4 19 Matt. 13:12 20 Deut. 2:30; 2 Kings 8:12,13 21 Ps. 81:11,12; 2 Thess. 2:10-12 22 Exod. 8:15,32; Isa. 6:9,10; 1 Pet. 2:7,8 Paragraph 7. As the providence of God does in general reach to all creatures, so after a more special manner it takes care of His church, and disposes of all things to the good thereof.23 23 1 Tim. 4:10; Amos 9:8,9; Isa. 43:3-5